Raiders field hockey traveled to Washington, D.C. last Saturday with hopes of upsetting rival American University, ranked 12th in the nation. Although the Raiders came up just short of pulling off an upset, Colgate gave last year’s Patriot League champions quite possibly its best effort of the season.

Colgate was the first team to get on the board when junior Lauren Carey scored a goal off a penalty corner. The rest of the corner crew was comprised of senior Natali Plesniarski and junior Maddie Watrobski, both of whom were credited with assists.

“We practice corners at least twice a week trying to perfect them, so when we are given the opportunity we can capitalize on it,” Carey said. “I think that our team recognizes their importance, and we work to achieve that perfection necessary to score.”

The 1-0 lead was held through the remainder of the half. In the first 35 minutes, Colgate outshot American 5-4, while each team accrued three penalty shots.

The momentum shifted towards American’s side in the second half, as the Eagles outshot the Raiders 9-3. At 45:52, American’s Anne-Meike deWiljes picked up a rebound off a blocked shot and found the net, tying the game. 13 minutes later, American found the cage once more when Savannah Graybill tapped in the ball during a scramble in front of the goal. This gave American the 2-1 lead, which they held for the remainder of the game.

Despite the loss, Colgate’s effort turned many heads. Junior Amanda Gilmore was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for preventing American’s Denise Infante from accumulating any points or shots on goal. Infante is not only American’s leading scorer, but she tops the Patriot League as well.

The game also gives the ladies confidence for what is to come.

“Last Saturday’s game showed us that we have the ability to dominate any of our opponents,” senior Lauren Remkus said. “We know that if we continue to play at a high level, we can beat the rest of the Patriot League teams, make it to the tournament, and win the championship.”

With this year’s Patriot League debut behind them, Colgate looks to bounce back as they travel to Holy Cross on Saturday. The ladies will then travel to Cornell next Wednesday in their final non-league match.